We welcome Will Carroll, the fantasy sports Injury Expert, to the staff at Fantasy College Blitz.
Each week Will mines his network of medical contacts to get the inside information you need to make the best fantasy college football roster selections possible – and those results are exclusively presented here in his weekly Triage Time piece.
[display_podcast]
John Huss joins me in this podcast as we talk about Will’s bio starting with Baseball Prospectus, how John got in touch with Will and some challenges he is expecting with college versus pro games.
The same advantages you get by understanding injuries in the NFL are available now here at FCB. In fact, there could be more of an advantage since the gap from starter to replacement is often huge at even the biggest, deepest programs. Experience counts as well, so knowing who could play, who will play at less that full-go, and who’s skills will be affected can help you win your league or at the very least, give you a good excuse. (“Sure, you won, but if Johnson hadn’t had that high ankle sprain, it would have been different!”)
We’ll take some ‘Triage Time’ all season long to let you know what players — and teams — will be held back by injuries. As fall practice gets ready to open, let’s take a look around at some names that will be most affected by their injury status …
ARTRELL WOODS (OKLAHOMA STATE)
Kevin Everett might be a great story, but Artrell Woods might have him beat. Unlike Everett, Woods is going to play again, though admittedly no one has any idea how well he’ll be able to come back. He’s been cleared to play despite having had a devastating spinal injury just under two years ago that left him using a walker at this time last year. Woods was, at one time, the #2 WR in the Cowboys depth chart and that’s his upside now. He’s more likely to be a spot player and full-time inspiration.
We crank up the Fantasy College Blitz Time Machine to return to the 1970′s and 1980′s…when the most happening offense in college football was based in Provo, Utah.
Wait…forget that time machine stuff. The 2008 Brigham Young University Cougars may be as proficient as any of those legendary offenses. Definitely, the 2008 version will be the most balanced offense ever produced at the school. And, this season, the defending Mountain West Conference champ BYU will have the best chance of any non-BCS school to crash the BCS Bowls.
HEAD COACH: Bronco Mendenhall (Fourth Season, 28-10 overall record. Also BYU Defensive Coordinator first three seasons, will still call defensive plays in 2008)
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Robert Anae (Former assistant at Texas Tech. Brought in spread offense to BYU, a variation of the scheme run at Texas Tech)
After one national title, two straight years in BCS bowls, and three 11-2 finishes in a row, it’ll be tough for LSU to repeat the level of success they’ve had over the last few years. What’ll make matters difficult is losing 10 starters on both sides of the ball, including QB Matt Flynn, RB Jacob Hester, and arguably five of their top six guys on defense (Glenn Dorsey, Ali Highsmith, Jonathan Zenon, Chevis Jackson, and Craig Steltz). Still, Les Miles has done an excellent job keeping a high level of talent in Baton Rouge, and he’ll look to continue the trend of spending most – if not all – of the season inside the top 10.
Speaking of Miles, he’s back for his 4th year as LSU’s head coach (currently sporting a 34-6 record at LSU, including 3-0 in bowls). OC Gary Crowton enters his 2nd year at LSU. After losing DC Bo Pelini to Nebraska, Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto will co-DC. Mallory was the DB coach, Peveto was the LB coach. (Bottom line: there shouldn’t be that much of a difference in philosophies on either side of the ball this season.
Despite leading the ACC in passing efficiency as a freshman, and leading the nation in completion percentage as a sophomore, Riley Skinner is probably not the type of quarterback you want on your fantasy team. The reason is of course: touchdowns. Skinner has thrown only 21 in two seasons. He will also be missing his top-2 targets from 2007-Kenny Moore (1,011) and Joe Tereshinski (355). With such a high completion percentage, Skinner should see his interception total drop (13), but big games from Skinner will be few and far between.
